The Opposite Approach

"Working is 'cutting off'. Look, part of your limbs are exposed, right? You can just cut that part. Actually, I'll do it in one breath after putting it to sleep, but this time I'll leave it to Mani.... What's wrong? I want you to do it for nine people within an hour."

"But, uh... how do I do that?"

"This is it"

Mani's face finally turned pale when he took out the saw that he had made himself from the storage space.

"It's a remnant of the time when we weren't able to streamline this work yet. I guarantee its sharpness. Yes, go ahead."

Mani took it silently and gave him a push on his back as he staggered closer to the men. The men, who hadn't lost consciousness yet so I could see them, let out muffled screams from the depths of their gags.

"Dismantling fellows who ate from the same pot must be mentally tough." It's a bit cruel, but it can't be helped, this is also part of the punishment for Mani. I'm not going to let you have fun. I see her determination to "want to live".

"Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh..."

Once again, Mani looked at me like she was reluctant to do it, and jerk her chin to show her to do it quickly. Then she finally gave up and started to move the saw. ──A voiceless scream. The man who was unlucky to be the first to be selected due to the order of the line seemed to be getting more and more painful because of Mani's hesitant dexterity. This really hurts my heart. If it was true, it should have become a garden plant before I knew what was going on.

However, it is a perfect subject for Mani's reverse sentiment education. I'm glad I was of help. So be patient and accept it.

...and then for a while. Is it unexpectedly dexterous, or did it work because I rushed it? As the number of people increased, Mani's work speed increased. The guy who got cut off at the end didn't even realize he was missing his limbs? "It's a joke, but she's gotten so good at handling saws." Even if you subtract her outstanding sharpness, this is quite good.

At the end, I noticed that you were mumbling to yourself. Judging from the contents, I think that the opponents are the two older brothers who died, but I wonder if I put a little too much load on them... well, it's okay. If you think it looks dangerous, let's blur your consciousness again. The more unusual the mental state of a person, the more likely it is to fall. In other words, it is suitable for the current mani.

"Mani, Mani, Mani. Look over here, Mani."

"Ah... the work is over..."

"Oh, well done. This is fine for today. I'll do the rest."

When I said that I would give it to her who was trying to return the saw with her slow movements, she froze for a while and then slowly returned her hand.

"If it seems like it fits in your hand quite well. I'll make it easier to carry later… I have to do something about it being covered in blood."

She can sweep and wipe with just one fingertip, but she's not very good at keeping people clean. She has given her apprentice a homemade bath, but she finds it troublesome to prepare for it from now on. After all, the situation is different from those days, so I now have a way to solve it without much effort.

So, I went back to the royal castle and asked Morrow, who was working on government affairs, to guide me to the baths that the king purveyed to the king, and I jumped to my house alone. What to do is, of course, to clean up the unfinished business.

"Ah, even though I stopped the bleeding, one person died... it's a loss."

"Didn't your heart fill with fear and pain?" I've probably killed a lot of people, but if I met this kind of thing, I'd be a jerk. I jump it into the forest while stunned. Buried at the root of one of the black trees, it will eventually become nourishment. At least I have to do that.

"Now then." Let's put the remaining eight people into the culture tank. It is connected to a supply device that continues to draw a certain amount of magical power from Eidos, and is constantly soaked. Until now, it was performed in a state of suspended animation, but it is performed while maintaining the life and consciousness of the test subject. I wonder what will happen once this happens. The pain will continue, but I'll ask him to endure it, and for the time being, let's live for about a month or two and observe the progress.

Even though I've devoted myself to it for nearly 20 years, I still haven't succeeded in turning substances other than myself into Eidos. I believe that doing so, especially with humans, will one day be a stepping stone to fulfilling our ambitions.

Eidosification means obtaining the right to set foot in the ideal realm of Eidos.

Depending on how you do it, you can make it come true, but you can't see the future unless you create an existence like me. Even if I say that, it's going to be a completely opposite approach to me who came from there, so even if the results are the same, I'm predicting that the probability that we'll be able to progress is 50/50 at best... .

"Well, don't look too far ahead." For now, let's make a more experimental example based on Morrow's current situation. That's where the story begins.

After quickly activating the eight culture tanks, I cleaned up the restraint table and the blood that had splattered on the floor, and then jumped back to the royal castle. Is it about time for the mani to bleed too?

◇◇◇

"Oso"

I thought I had spent a relatively leisurely time, but Mani was in the middle of purifying her body in the private bath for the king--it was placed in one of the rooms in the royal area. What's more, he's just moving the cloth up and down like he's doing what he's told, and from what I can see, he's only washed his arms.

"Hey mani"

"...yes"

"Let me borrow it for a while"

"I pick it up like I'm snatching away the wiping cloth." At this rate, even when the sun goes down, it's likely that he'll be rubbing his arms all the time, so I have no choice but to do it for him. As expected, wiping the human body with magic is an act that can only be described as dangerous, so manually like this... I wonder if I'll take it off too.

I stowed my home-made robe and work clothes that also doubled as a pajamas (separate from my personal clothes) in the storage space, and followed Mani's footsteps. Clothes can be remade into new ones with the magic power in the space, but after all, people's hearts want to clean their own bodies with their own hands. I like bathing as much as sleeping, I do.

"I will disturb you."

"......"

Mani doesn't say yes or no, but she doesn't refuse either. Well, can't you? The bathtub is wide, so there's enough space for two people to get in, but looking at it like this, Mani...you're younger than I thought, aren't you? Because of her tall and dingy clothes, she looked much older—around Celia's age, but now that she's covered in hot water and completely naked, her impression of her is surprisingly young.

But I see, she came here as a member of the boy robbery group quite a while after she rescued Morrow... maybe. I'm sorry for her vague sense of time, but this is what it's like to live to the point where you can't even tell your own age. I want to think so.

anyway. Mani, who had no meat where it should have been, and was growing taller than her, was even poorer. You could even say that she has a poor figure. If it's just thinness, it's not even defeated by me. Needless to say, it's pretty dangerous to be smart with me, who has three heads. The starting salary is decided by plenty of food for the time being. If you work, the food will be delicious.

"Bend over a little more....How's it going? Doesn't it hurt?"

"... it's tickling"

"It's okay to be honest. If you're weak, why don't you make it a little stronger?"

He carefully wipes off the blood and dirt from the top of his head to his toes. A lot of dirt came out too. There are many raw wounds, and I don't say anything about it. It seems that it is strong against pain because it puts itself in a rough place. I thought he had more guts than a shock death bastard... but this is probably a slowdown due to mental causes. Well, it's better than moving and being hard to wash.

"It's over.

Mani timidly lowered her head. It seems that he intended to pay his respects. Even if I am absent-minded, it seems that I have not forgotten that I am the master. As further evidence of that, Mani himself said that he would wash my body. Impressed, I handed the new wipes to Mani.

"If you just wait, you'll have nothing to do. Then give it a try."

"yes"

Saying that, Mani diligently wiped my body... yeah, it was indescribable. I'm not good at adjusting. I know you're trying to imitate what I did, but it takes a little experience to master.

"Even so, it's strange, I was used to cutting off so quickly, so what happened?" I used to think that skillful people can do anything, but I guess that's not the case. Or maybe Mani had a knack for dismantling humans.

"Ah, are you done? Thank you. Well then, let's wash it off once again. It's almost time for Celia to come, so I don't have time to fill up the hot water and soak--ah."

"........."

"If you spread rumors, what will you do?" Celia, who appeared from the door at the time I mentioned her name, looked at me and Mani in turn. A naked figure. And then she stays silent and she doesn't want to say anything.

"Umm, Celia? 　It's not my obligation to say it, but I think you shouldn't suddenly enter the bathroom."

"Yeah, it's not really a duty that I could say... I heard from Morrow and came to see how things are going. So, what is Edea-sama doing here?"

──Hmm. When I was asked again what I was doing, I realized that it was a little difficult to explain.

"This child is Mani. I decided to take over."

"Take over?"

"As a servant. To begin with, we washed our bodies together... hmm?

"No... I understand. Idea-sama likes to see girls naked in the bath. I apologize for interrupting your enjoyment."

"That's all, Celia withdrew." After the dry sound of the door closing, only me and mani are left, and a subtle silence flows. ...Seria, I was a little scared.

"Idea, sir?"

I nodded to Mani who broke the silence and muttered.

"Yes, Idea. That's my name. Mani is her follower, so be sure to call her by her title. Okay?"

"yes"

I nodded once more at his honest reply. ... After all, let's soak in hot water.